Discussion of all social, political and cultural aspects of the American Civil War battles fought in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness and Spotsylvania.
Antebellum to modern day perspective of the material culture effects of these engagements, both military and civilian. From time to time your blog host will examine other Civil War sites such as Manassas, Gettysburg, and Petersburg.
All original material copyright 2016 by John F. Cummings III

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Tuesday, April 15, 2014

"Bivouac of the Dead" A Then and Now Examination

Nearly ten years ago, I set out to find the location of a photograph that had intrigued me for a good many years. The image shows a battle scarred tree, riddled with bullets and set upon by an ax. Nailed to it was a sign board bearing a stanza from the Theodore O'Hara poem, "Bivouac of the Dead". Visitors to our National Cemeteries will recognize the poem, originally written to honor America soldiers killed in the Mexican War. Its stanzas are usually displayed at intervals amongst the rows of stones. To make a long story short, my readers can visit a previous posting containing a podcast of a talk I gave in Charlottesville in March of 2013. Therein you will find more in-depth information on this and other images, taken under the direction of Dr. Reed Brockway Bontecou in April 1866. Additionally, I wrote an article which appeared in the April 2009 issue of Civil War Times Magazine, covering much of the same material. The original glass, stereo negatives had numbers scratched into their emulsion, thus you will see, oddly placed numbers in some prints from the series.

The purpose for this posting is as a continuation of my study, and obsession, with this collection of images. As seen below, a severely damaged landscape extends beyond the tree. In the left, middle distance, just below the treeline, is the McCoull House, one of the Spotsylvania Battlefield's noted landmarks, unfortunately destroyed by fire in the early twentieth century, but nevertheless, thoroughly photo documented before its demise. Recognizing that structure is what brought about my identification of this site, and the path Bontecou and his entourage took in creating the series. Out of 121 known images taken, only 65 percent survive in print form. None of the original negatives are known to survive today.

Initially thought to be a piece of board siding from a nearby structure, my examinations determined that the sign was painted on a grave marker, one of undoubtedly thousands supplied by the Quartermaster's Department in the the summer of 1865 to a Union burial party searching the battlefields around Fredericksburg for northern remains. The haste with which both armies exited the region in May 1864, left numerous bodies unburied or in shallow graves. Northern homefront sentiment expressed concern that the recently defeated southerners would desecrate the remains of Union dead, thus an exhaustive effort was made to locate and gather them with legible headboards. Sadly, most would be marked, "Unknown U.S. Soldier". Marking these graves were uniformly prepared boards with arched tops and routed edges. Skilled sign painters were among those performing this task, as evidenced by the precise lettering seen in these photographs and a few surviving originals. It was from one of these relics, on loan to the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, that I obtained measurements by which I was able to create an exact-size replica of the sign on the tree. Based on these figures, it is also possible to now determine the height at which it was affixed, roughly ten feet, and the diameter of the tree, at approximately 17 inches. Based on documents found in the National Archives, I was able to determine that this image was taken on or about April 13, 1866. Knowing the location and date also allows an approximate exposure time of 8:30 a.m., Civil War time, which is 9:41 modern time, on that date, based on allowances for Daylight Savings Time and the creation of Railway Time in 1883. Shadows, and the amount of sunlight cast on surfaces, functions as a historic sundial, placing a time stamp of sorts on much of Bontecou's journey.

Based on the location and position of the McCoull House, this view looks nearly

due south, across the rear of the Confederate line, behind the Bloody Angle.

Note the sunlight, and shadow created by the tree.

Holding the replica sign, near the location of the original tree, looking south.

Taken at 9:45 a.m., on Sunday, April 13, 2014, 148 years after the original.

southwest, from a camera position approximately 48 feet east of the tree

with the sign, seen at left center. This creates a triangulation that helped

determine the location of both images. The distant ridge is the field across which

Colonel Emory Upton made his May 10, 1864 assault on the Confederate works.

The same site, 9:59 a.m., on Sunday, April 13, 2014, 148 years

after the original image was taken. Note the sunlight and shadows.

Joseph Sanford's Hotel, also known as the Spotswood Inn, seen

at approximately 3:14 p.m., April 13, 1864. The photographic

wagon is parked in front, at extreme right. This is image number 113.

The same view at 4:25 p.m., Sunday, April 13, 2014, 148 years later.

Image number 114, taken shortly after the previous image. This view

is captioned "Cash Corner" perhaps alluding to the money-making

potential of this corner, located across from Spotsylvania Court House.

The community well is at left of the wall surrounding the Court House lawn.

The same view today at 4:31 p.m., looking across Route 208. The

wall around the Court House lawn was removed in 1900. The large,

brick house, seen in the 1866 view, burned in 1930.

As many of my friends and associates know, there is a forthcoming book on this series of images, and the story behind them. I have a very patient publisher who took interest in October of 2004. Time to wrap it up.

9 comments:

Good work John. If I understand your point then the sign on the tree was slightly to the, Confederate right, of the apex of the West Angle. Accounts mention several large oaks along that section of the line. Most famous of course is the one shot down at the right traverse of Carrington's right hand gun. I find what appears to be a group of trees between Dole's Salient and the West Angle position. That appears to be in the same area as we see today. Well done.

Kaci,There is little doubt that the sign was placed by the burial crew the summer of 1865. In September of that year, a northern journalist named John Trowbridge visited the battlefields around Fredericksburg, and in his published book he describes visiting the Confederate works at Spotsylvania, where he recounts, "Upon a hacked and barkless trunk at the angle of the woods, in the midst of the graves, was nailed aloft a board bearing these line: 'On Fame's eternal camping-groundTheir silent tents are spread, And glory guards with solemn roundThe bivouac of the dead.' "The photograph of this tree and sign is taken seven months later, in April 1866.

I didn't realize those pics were taken almost on top of the Bloody Angle, in what was the very thick of the fighting on May 12th, 1864. The 2nd Rhode Island and 37th Massachusetts of Oliver Edwards's brigade would have been on the Federal side of those works and the 14th South Carolina and the 16th Mississippi on the Rebel side, roughly. One can now appreciate what the earthworks looked like only two years after the battle.

John, do you think the large tree in the modern view could be the same tree that's to the left of the "sign" tree in the original? I think it might be an oak and some oaks are slow growing and would be as big as one might expect. Probably has lead in it if it is.

Updated. See additional material at end of post. On November 16, 2007, USA Today ran a front page article proclaiming that a m...

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Why I am here:

I am the owner of Spotsylvania Commemorative. I conduct historical research and provide battlefield guide services. Living on the Spotsylvania battlefield has its advantages. The most important to me is that I am right on the ground that played an important but usually disregarded role in the campaign. The actions of May 14, 1864 resulted in the near capture of General George Gordon Meade while it also helped to anchor a new Federal left wing. Known as the battle of Myer's Hill, it focused on what was until recently a wooded summit, one half mile southeast from my driveway. There remains close to 75 acres of land which includes the Myer house site. In 1864 it was a 400 acre farm. I have been trying for more than ten years to influence the preservation of this property. A few years ago some of the cultural resources on the site were damaged during deforesting, including what was a beautifully preserved trenchline built by the Federal 6th Corps. Seeing an imminent threat to the house site, I personally negotiated with the logging company and minimized the damage, while the surrounding acres were clear cut. I have come to know the story of John Henry Myer and his family and the struggle for the farm site they called home. Myer, conscripted into the 40th VA Infantry, watched helpless from the Confederate trenches on May 15, 1864 as his home was destroyed by the Union occupants. It had been intended as a sanctuary from the ravages of war. Their story, and those of countless others, is my inspiration.